5 Tools for a Successful Marketing Campaign

No matter how large or small your business is, creating a successful marketing campaign can be challenging. Rather than letting the idea of a campaign overwhelm you, think of it as a group of strategically worded communications that you blast to your contact list throughout the month. The only difference between a large marketing campaign and a small one is the number of resources, time and money, you put into each step.

To help you get started, here are 6 basic steps of any successful marketing campaign:

Identify your target customer and outline your ideal outcome. Jot down a list of exactly what types of people might be interested in your product or service. For example, if you are marketing a toy for young children with learning disabilities, your target audience might include parents of elementary school children as well as elementary school teachers. Next, you need to figure out exactly what you want to get out of this campaign. Common goals include generating more leads or turning existing leads into conversions.

Produce creative, interesting and visually appealing content. This step requires some creativity. Create content that looks good and speaks to your target customer in a meaningful way. Start by making an outline of your campaign and then create graphics and content to go along with each step.

Identify what tools you will need for your campaign. Finding the tools you need for your campaign will depend largely on how sophisticated your audience is. For a younger, more digitally-savvy audience, you would likely use social media to reach your target customer. Older customers might be more likely to visit your company blog than to search for your business on social media. After you’ve chosen your platforms, you will also need to consider your checkout software. Online shopping carts should be intuitive and user-friendly to increase the likelihood of conversion.

Schedule your campaign and establish bookmarks. For this step, start by identifying what metrics you will use to determine the success of your campaign. This might include getting a certain number of likes on social media or shares on your company blog. Next, create a campaign calendar that establishes benchmarks along the way. These benchmarks will let you know if something is not working the way it is supposed to.

Implement your campaign. Believe it or not, this is the easiest of the 6 steps. Set your campaign into motion and watch the magic happen.

Measure and analyze your campaign on a regular basis. Measuring your progress towards pre-determined benchmarks will allow you to determine if any tweaks need to be made.

Make adjustments as necessary and at the end of your campaign, take some time to write down what worked and what didn’t. Use this list to develop your next marketing campaign.

If you are trying something new, it might be a good idea to use a mini-campaign to gauge customer interest and predict your potential for success. Don’t spend thousands of dollars on a new tool until you have tested it during a smaller campaign.